Awful news today, as the death of Kayla Jean Mueller has been confirmed by her family and President Obama himself. The 26-year-old humanitarian worker was abducted in August 2013, as she was leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Syria.

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The Prescott, Arizona, native moved to Turkey in 2012 to work for an international aid organization called Support to Life. Her focus was on helping families flee from the violence in Syria and take refuge in Turkey.

She worked in refugee camps, using "psycho-social interventions" for those scarred by the horrors they had seen. She played with children and tried to make a safe place for them to have fun and just be kids. She taught Syrian women valuable skills they could use to rebuild their lives.

She was a hero.

Her family issued the following statement about their beloved daughter:

We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller, has lost her life ... Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in need of freedom, justice, and peace.

President Obama also issued a heartfelt statement, saying Kayla "represents what is best about America." He also promised retaliation:

Kayla Mueller used these freedoms she so cherished to improve the lives of others. In how she lived her life, she epitomized all that is good in our world. She has been taken from us, but her legacy endures, inspiring all those who fight, each in their own way, for what is just and what is decent. No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla’s captivity and death.

Good. President Obama owes it to Kayla and her memory to make avenging her death a priority. The Islamic State (also called ISIS or ISIL) is pretty much the closest thing to pure evil we have in the world today. They will not stop kidnapping our people, torturing our people, murdering our people until we show them what happens if they don't.

Maybe Obama should take a page out of King Abdullah II's playbook. The King of Jordan took immediate action after ISIL brutally murdered one of his people that they had been holding hostage. So he ordered the immediate execution of two Iraqi prisoners and intensified bombings against his enemies. It was confirmed today that he's also sending "thousands" of troops to the Iraqi border to protect his people.

The President needs to act hard and fast on this. His words must be followed with action. He has the power to do it and the power to raise a national outcry for justice for Kayla -- he just needs to do it. Send in the troops, send in more air strikes to take out known targets, and show these evildoers who's boss.

What do you think President Obama should do about the Islamic State terrorist group?